Creating Your Argumentative Synthesis Essay What is Analysis? What is Synthesis? What is a Thesis? What is Argument?

“Okay, so what is analysis anyway?” Dictionary.com says that analysis is the process as a method of studying the nature of something. So when you analyze you are thinking about how one idea affects another or taking something a part to see how each part works

“So… What is analytical writing?” It is writing about something, how one thing affects another, or taking something a part. See how something works Identify the parts as a whole Determine how the parts relate to each other Determine its purpose or meaning

“Yeah, yeah, so what do you mean by that?” In analytical thinking and writing, its not the “what’s and the how’s” that reach the analytical level, it’s the why. Essentially what you are doing when you are writing analytically is explaining why something is the way it is. You are explaining why you believe your opinion to be true.

What analytical writing is NOT! Analytical writing DOES NOT: Summarize information Transcribe information Recite what is learned to the teacher or reader. This essay should show a fresh insight that YOU come up with!!!!

So what is a Synthesis Essay? According to Dictionary.com synthesis means the combining of the constituent elements of separate material or abstract entities into a single or unified entity Rewrite that definition in your own words in the space provided in your notes. Essentially when you synthesize, you combine parts to make one thing or idea. Can you think of any examples of when you synthesize something?

So what is a Synthesis Essay? For this essay you will analyze at least four or five sources on the same topic. Because these sources are on the same topic, you should start to see a connection between all the sources. You should form opinions and ideas about those connections. Eventually, you will come up with ONE idea that you think all the sources demonstrate together. This one idea will become your thesis.

What is a thesis? Before you begin, you should identify what your THESIS will be. ALL essays must have a thesis! A thesis is a summary sentence that supports your opinion and idea. It is the LAST sentence in your introductory paragraph. Three parts of an introductory paragraph: hook, background information/transition, thesis statement. (NOTE: We will learn how to write the introductory paragraph after you do your research and outline your essay.)

“Why does my essay need a thesis statement?” Without one your essay has no focus!!! It would be a big blurry mess!!!! It helps put your main ideas into one summary sentence. It better organizes and develops the opinion or argument of your essay. It provides your readers with a “guide” to your argument.

The Argumentative Synthesis Essay Goal: To persuade, to convince readers to agree with a particular claim Method: The writer brings together information from various sources to support the claim, while other sources may represent views the writer rejects Focus: The writer develops a position using sufficient, relevant, and reliable support and the methods of effective argumentation.

Top Four Things to Remember from Today’s Introduction 1.When you analyze, you explain why you think something is the way it is or why your opinion is true. 2.You synthesize after you analyze several different related sources. The synthesis occurs when you combine your ideas to form ONE idea about that topic. 3.A thesis is a summary sentence about a topic that demonstrates your ONE idea. It will be the focus of your essay: it is your argument! 4.An argument develops a position using sufficient, relevant, and reliable support and the methods of effective argumentation

Let’s Practice together Analyzing Better Off Dead Get out a sheet of paper to complete this activity. In the introductory scenes of this movie, you will see the four members of this family. Based on what you see and what you hear, decide how you would characterize this family as a whole. Where will you get your support for your thesis?

Synthesizing Better Off Dead and Son-in-law 3.8 Paragraph In these movies, the characters are ____________________________ One example of this characterization is _______________________________ (Explain sentence: Give example from film.) Another example is________________ _______________________________ (Explain sentence: Give example from film.) A final example of this characterization is_____________________________ (Explain sentence: Give example from film.) Conclusion sentence: Why this character trait? What is the purpose?

Now let’s try synthesis We are going to watch a second movie. While watching this movie, I want you to make a list of characteristics about the main character. We are then going to combine our ideas about the first and second movie clips to synthesize a single idea about the similarities of the two main characters of both the movies.